and we're back with more of "today" on this wednesday morning, the 2nd day of may, 2012. we've got a pretty sunny crowd joining us on what's turning out to be a kind of a gray day here in the big apple. a little sprinkle starting. but we're really glad all these fine people stopped by. got the umbrella out this morning. matt is on assignment. he'll be reporting from kensington palace tomorrow morning on "today." meantime in this half hour, want to tell you that we have an exclusive first look at some very small babies. they're sextuplets born just last week to a young, and remarkably calm, couple, in texas.

they were born prematurely but they're making a lot of progress. >> and on this morning's money 911, we're going to be tackling your financial questions with your experts. what do you want to do if you want to move but your current home has decreased in value. also how to decide whether or not to collect social security early and paying off student loans. >> sounds like some good advice. >> and in our daily dose we're going to talk about sleep apnea. a very common condition. one in five americans suffer from it. about 90% of them are undiagnosed. we're going to tell you who's at risk, what the signs are, and what you can do if you think you have it. >> that would be pretty feshl for any one of us because of our early morning -- >> i used to have it. losing about 100 pounds. >> there you go, isn't that interesting? we'll find out more about that. meantime let's go inside and see natalie's got a check of the morning's top stories. >> good morning once again. in the news this morning, today, president obama returns to the white house following his surprise seven-hour visit to afghanistan.

he met with u.s. troops to mark the anniversary of the death of osama bin laden, and said the end is in sight of the war in afghanistan. while combat troops are expected to withdraw by 2014, under a thank you agreement, the u.s. will have a presence in afghanistan until 2024 for training and counterterrorism. soon after the president left, a taliban attack killed at least seven people. and an explosion killed two coalition troops. the taliban says its annual spring offensively begins tomorrow. five men are in custody in ohio accused of plotting to blow up a bridge near cleveland. the five allegedly obtained what they thought were c-4 explosives and planted them at the base of the bridge. officials say the material was harmless and the public was never at risk. they describe the suspects as anarchists, angry with corporate america and the government. we're getting a first look at sextuplets born last week to a young couple in texas. nbc's janet shamlian is in houston with tbeautiful baby

pictures. >> the babies are here at texas children's civilian for women where the proud parents gave us a first and exclusive look at what's being called their new six-pack. these babies are small, but they're making big progress. >> the world's newest sextuplets belong to a remarkably calm young houston area couple, lauren and david perkins. after what lauren describes as an easy pregnancy, the couple became the proud parents of a six-pack. three boys and three girls, born in four minutes, by cesarean section. >> my heart was beating like crazy. and the first thing i noticed when i walked in and saw lauren was that she was shaking like crazy. i did not know that that was perfectly normal. >> reporter: some 35 doctors, nurses, and other specialists at texas children's civilian for women were in the delivery room, a team for each baby. >> baby "a" is out. i'm like, oh, we're starting. and they came out within four

minutes of -- total four minutes all six were out. >> reporter: andrew, ben, levi, allison, caroline, and leah. the largest was just 2 pounds 15 ounces. >> when the mom came in the hospital, we knew where the equipment was going to be. we knew which teams would be at which bed and with which baby. so again, it's being ready. you don't want to do that the first time that night. >> reporter: five of the perkins' six-pack are now breathing on their only. only leah is still on a ventilator and facing greater challenges. she had surgery monday and came through it well. >> get your blankie. >> reporter: after 18 months of trying on their own, lauren became pregnant with fertility drugs through a process known as iui. they made the decision not to selectively reduce. >> seeing your six babies and seeing their heartbeats and there's no sign of any problems, so you know, how do you choose? >> okay, buddy. >> reporter: and now, they're simply overjoyed. >> does it feel good? >> reporter: yeah, that's when i feel like a mom.

>> reporter: for at least a few months the babies will remain here. and even with all the challenges ahead and leah's fragile condition their proud dad looks forward to the day they will all be home. >> i don't think that we'd be taken this far just to have something not go home with us. we're very confident in that. >> reporter: the perkins are a little shell-shocked by all the attention they're getting. and while multiple births are on the rise, natalie, sextuplets are still incredibly rare. back to you. >> we wish them all the best and hope they do get to go home soon. janet shamlian in houston, thank you. organ donation networks are reporting a spike in the number of people registering, thanks to a facebook initiative. on tuesday, the social net woerging site began offering a link that makes it easier for potential organ and tissue donors to register online. a year-old slice of wedding cake is expected to bring big bucks when it goes up for auction tomorrow. that slice is from the eight-tiered cake served to guests following prince william and kate's wedding last year.

the anonymous seller hopes it brings in more than $1600. that was the price that was paid for a piece of cake from charles and diana's wedding. and this is the definition of a true love/hate relationship. this pup named pippen apparently has some very conflicting emotions about his owner. >> grr. >> oh, well as cute as this four-pound booch may be, don't recommend you try that at home. very cute, though. six minutes past the hour. now over to al with a check of your weather. grr. >> kind of like me and matt before the show. >> okay. >> anyway. >> enough said. >> okay. let's see what we've got, a risk of some strong storms. reason for that, we've got warm, moist, gulf air pumping up from the south. a cold front coming down and then you got a jet stream getting things going. and so we have a risk of strong storms. strong risk from central

nebraska into central iowa, and we've got a slight risk all the way from north platte, nebraska, to norfolk, virginia and washington, d.c. cans rule out a chance of tornadoes out of this system. rainfall is going to be pretty good, too, from waterloo to detroit. we're looking at about an inch to two inches of rain locally as much as three. >> good morning. we will see two chances for rain this morning. scattered showers and time now for "today's money 911," where we tackle your

financial questions. this morning everything from refinancing a condo that's under water to being smart about paying off your student loans. our financial stalwarts are jean chatzky, "today's" financial editor and author of "money rules." david bach the founder of finishrich.com and the author of "debt free for life." sharon epperson, cnbc's personal finance correspondent. >> good morning. >> let's get started. we're going to go right to skype. we've got elizabeth skyping in from wisconsin. good morning, elizabeth. >> good morning. >> what's your question? >> my question is, i'm 21 years old, grad outing with my undergrad in two weeks and i already have $25,000 worth of debt, $10,000 in unsubsidized, $15,000 in subsidized and i plan to add a large amount to that during law school. if i have money left in my budget each month should i use it to pay off interest in the standing loans or the loans themselves or should i just not bother? >> i'm guessing, jean, she should bother.

>> you should bother. you should absolutely bother. and here is why. even when you're in school, those unsubsidized loans are going to earn interest. which means that that $15,000 that you have in loans could be $18,000, $19,000 by the time that you get ready to pay them off after law school. so chunk away at those if you've got any extra money in your budget. pay them off. and make sure that as you take out loans for law school that you're taking as much subsidized aid as you can before diving in to the unsubsidized pool. those are very hard words to say this early in the morning. >> thank you so much. >> pay while she's in law school. pay off some of those loans if they're unsubsidized definitely pay those off because you don't want that interest to accrue. >> if you can. >> thank you, elizabeth. now let's go to the phone line. we've got jamie calling in from connecticut. good morning, jamie. >> good morning. >> what's your question? >> my husband, daughter and i have outgrown our condo, yet bought back in the height of the

market bang in 2007. right now, our condos are listing for like tens of thousands more than what we owe. we do not have a fannie mae or freddie mac loan so we don't qualify for the new ram. we have an fha loan which i know has a lot of penalties. we want to be able to buy a house but it seems impossible to come up with a down payment, closing costs and the difference on top of paying our current mortgage. i was told that maybe we should rent our place, but i really don't think anyone would pay the amount needed to cover the mortgage, condo fees, with no utilities for one bedroom. >> wow. >> i was thinking of refinancing, to try to save for next year but then i don't want to get hit with a 2% to 4% fee for the loan payoff with the fha loan. we don't know who to turn to and it's difficult with a 1-year-old in such a little space. >> wow. >> that's a tough situation. david? >> i hear the baby in the background. let me give you some great news, your baby has no idea what size apartment you have. and she's not going to know for the next 12 months. so here's what i would recommend.

enjoy your home. let me count your blessings for a second right now. you're not losing your house. you're not behind on your mortgage payments. you're not being foreclosed on. you're not being kicked out of this condominium right now with a baby. enjoy the house. enjoy the house. now back to fha loan. it's not true, there should not be prepayment penalties. that's not correct. so you may be able to refinance. here's what you should do. go to hud.gov, that's the government website, in a search engine put in refinance. it will take you to the streamlined process that they have for fha loans. there will not be a prepayment penalty in most cases. especially if you're staying in the property. but my best recommendation to you, as a new parent, suck it up for the first year, enjoy that time. with 700 square feet in manhattan where we live that's a frickin' mansion. you know what? love the house, love your child, save some money. move in a year or two. >> thank you so much, jamie.

now, let's go back to skype again. we've got jason skyping in from salt lake city, utah. hey, jason. >> good morning. >> good morning, what's your question? >> you know, i have a child entering college in the fall, and another one the following year. each has a utma account for college. is it better to exhaust the funds of those accounts before taking on student loans? or use those funds for making payments towards four years of student loans? >> first of all, sharon, what's utma? >> uniform trust to minors account. and that's a custodial account that you set up for your kid. first of all, jason, congratulations on putting some money away for your kids and for thinking now about how you're going to pay for all four years for both of them. a lot of people just think about how i'm going to get there the first year and you're really trying to plan ahead. so i commend you on that. what you need to do is you have those in a custody account in the child's name. and so that's going to actually impact you more negatively for financial aid than say if you had in a 529 plan, which we talk

a lot on this segment. the 529 plan might be something that you might want to now transfer that money to, so you could get a more favorable financial aid package. because then it will be a parent's asset, it's assessed at a far lower rate, meaning you'd have to contribute less of that money toward their tuition next year. if you've already filled out the financial aid forms you may not be able to do that, you may not want to do that. bottom line is, pay off the first year of college if you can. use that money, use both of the accounts to pay as much as you can on that financial aid. then the next year you'll have two kids in college. you'll probably qualify for more favorable dpngsal aid package at that time, and when you do that, if you do have to borrow, federal first, then private loans, and pay as you go if you can. >> all right. good luck, and i don't know who the packers fan is. jean chatzky, sharon, david bach and sharon epperson, thanks so much, guys. for those of you on the east coast, jean is going to be sticking around. she'll answer your questions starting around 9:30 on today.com.

and still to come, we've got an exclusive interview with bobby brown. his first since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. but up next, are you excessively tired during the day, not able to sleep at night? you could be suffering from sleep apnea. we'll tell you what it is and what the symptoms are right after this. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wet cleaning better doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna...use these. ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] unlike mops, swiffer can maneuver into tight spaces and its wet mopping cloths can clean better in half the time. mom? ♪ ahhhh! ahhhh! no it's mommy! [ female announcer ] swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. ♪ [ female announcer ] irresistibly touchable skin hour after hour. ♪

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"today's daily dose" is brought to you by yoplait. it's so good. >> this morning on "today's daily dose," sleep apnea. according to the national sleep foundation, more than 18 million adults suffer from the potentially dangerous sleep disorder. and now new research suggests there could be a link between sleep apnea and depression. here to explain are "today" contributor dr. madelyn fernstrom and dr. roshini raj. dr. raj, what is sleep apnea? >> it's a very common condition that involves repeatedly

stopping breathing through the middle of the night. just for a few seconds but then you start breathing again. it can cause deprivation of oxygen to the brain and lead to other serious complications. >> could it be life threatening? >> it's very common. one in five adults probably has sleep apnea. and 25% of middle aged men, something that is surprising. if you look at obese people, at least 70% of people have this. you think it's not just a crummy night's sleep, there are real health consequences. first, it's cardiac for your heart. really bad for your heart. half these people have high blood pressure or will develop it. it's a big jolt when you stop breathing multiple times in a minute and you wake up. the other thing this is a biological arousal for your body, the fight or flight response, stress hormones are being pumped out. >> research, dr. raj that maybe sleep apnea is connected to depression. >> there was a new study from the cdc that looked at the link between sleep apnea and depression and they did find that those who suffered from

sleep apnea had a much higher rate, double in men and five times as high in women of having depression. we don't know if it's a cause or effect, an association, madelyn mentioned it's common in obese people. they have a lot of tissues around their neck. when they're sleeping, soft tissues in the back of the neck kind of chance and close the airway. it's really important that obese people in general are aware of this. even thin people can have it, too, especially if they have a narrow airway. >> a lot of people don't realize they have it. real quickly what are the symptoms if you're noticing you're waking up? >> because you're waking up so much in the middle of the night you may have a lot of daytime drowsiness. you may be irritable during the day. loud snoring is one. if you have a partner, they may notice you stop breathing for a few seconds and very abruptly wake up and start snorting or gasping for breath. >> what are the risk factors? >> number one is obesity. and moderate obesity, self eve

obesity. if you have a wide neck. that's where your airway is smaller. a man with a 17 inch collar for example, if you smoke that's a risk. if you have high blood pressure. you have to be aware of this. there's some good news in terms of lifestyle things that can help, in addition to medical assessment. >> lose weight. even if you can't lose weight that's tough. even 10% of your weight. if you weigh 200 pounds and lose 20 pounds that could help a lot to resolving this. >> sleeping on your side. >> because when you're on your back that's when those tissues can fall backwards and close your airway. a little trick to help you sleep on your side. sew a tennis ball to your pajamas so when you're on your back, it's so uncomfortable your body is going to tell you turn over. >> that's a high tech solution. you also say it's better to avoid alcohol, dietary supplements and limit caffeine. >> limiting caffeine because you're drowsy during the day you're trying to perk yourself up. limit that to get a better night's sleep. also limit alcohol, and sleep

supplements, over the counter or prescription because that will help to relax those muscles around your throat and you want to keep them open. you do exactly the opposite of what you should if you have sleep apnea. so skip those things. >> very quickly, nasal sprays. >> the best treatment for sleep apnea is a machine called a c-pap machine, continuous positive airway pressure. that's a mask you're wearing at night to keep your airway open. in some rare cases it's due to problems in your nose like nasal polyps. in that case nasal sprays can help. if you even suspect you have it talk to your doctor. >> good information. thank you. >> thanks. >> coming up, you take care of the family, now it's time to take care of yourself. we've got some great ideas to help moms take the load off this mother's day. [ sneezes ] ♪ got it all. here. have a good day, honey. i love you, ok. bye, mom. [ female announcer ] sam's mom is muddling through her allergies. what can she do?

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> as we head through the rest of the day, expect a mixture of clouds and a little bit of sunshine. chance for a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast all the way through this evening. some storms could be strong or severe. high temperatures in the mid- 70's. it will feel like summer on thursday and friday.



♪ it has been just a year since kate married her prince in a magnificent wedding watched by hundreds of millions around the world. tomorrow on "today," matt will be live at kensington palace, the home of the duke and duchess of cham bridge. we will preview all that's taking place in london over the next few months from the queen's diamond jubilee to the london olympic games which get under way this summer. that means that we'll get to. >> do you think they'll invite him in for breakfast. >> let me in! >> they'll just feel sorry for him.

>> for lunch. >> tea and crumpets. >> for tea. >> cucumber sandwiches. >> whoo. >> very nice. >> coming up in this half hour, matt before he left sat down with r&b star bobby brown who was married to whitney houston for 14 years. this morning we're going to hear what mr. brown has to say about their drug use and to people who blame him for her death. >> also ahead, as you say, mother's day usually about kids and husbands celebrating and pampering mom. which is always a good thing. but it's also a good time to treat and nurture yourself. coming up some ideas for mom to help you relax, reflect and maintain your emotional well-being. also important. and then a little bit later on, enjoying the freshness and flavor of spring cooking. whether you hit the farmer's market or your backyard garden we're going to show you how to use the produce of the season for simple and delicious meals and it smells so good upstairs. i cannot wait. >> how good does that pasta look? >> jasmine rice cooking. >> all right. we're getting distracted.

get a check of the weather. >> focus. focus. >> weather, weather. >> stop showing it to us. >> oh, that looks so good. >> oh. oh, weather. >> yes. >> let's show you what's going on, as we go to the maps. >> oh. >> hey. we've got a risk of some strong storms, nebraska -- >> pasta. >> big pasta noodle right there in to iowa. we've also got a slight risk into the mid-atlantic states. wet weather in the pacific northwest. showers down in the lower gulf coast. tomorrow slight risk of strong storms from central oklahoma into western p.a. and the central great lakes. cool weather in the pafb northwest. warm throughout the mid-atlantic states. showers through the mid-mississippi river valley.pp >> good morning. it could be enacted weather day -- could be an active weather day.

>> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, thanks, al. we have a special shout-out for the weather channel this morning. >> that's right. >> that's right. we are celebrating a 30th birthday. quite the accomplishment. weather channel seen in more than 100 million u.s. households. weather news around the clock. weather.com one of the main places on the web -- >> and here's why we're showing the empire state building. >> the top of the empire state building will be lit in weather channel blue this evening in celebration of the weather charge's 30th birthday. so congratulations. >> i can't believe it's been 30 years. >> i know. >> weather channel doesn't look a day over 29. >> well, we've had some work done. >> including your show. >> that's right. "wake up with al." >> wuwa.

>> good for them. congratulations for that. coming up next, bobby brown opens up about whitney houston, their drug use, and what cohave done differently. right after this. what if we could keep enough plastic waste to fill over 200 garbage trucks out of landfills each year? 6.5 million pounds of plastic, gone. by using glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. it's a small change that can make a big difference. and try glad odor shield with febreze freshness... strong bags that neutralize strong odors.

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now to bobby brown. who was married to whitney houston for 14 years. >> the r&b star has had a long career spanning more than three decades but he made a lot of headlines for his tumultuous relationship with houston. >> and he's now speaking out for the first time since his ex-wife's death in an exclusive interview with matt. >> i would imagine that in the hours and days after she passed away, you said to yourself on a couple of occasions, what else could i have done? could i have picked up the phone one time, i didn't? >> i still say that today, matt. maybe i could have done

something different, you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but you have to want it. you know. some things just happen. god probably just needed her for the quiet, you know, up there in heaven. and that's the biggest role she has. >> after whitney passed away, bobby, if i heard it once, i heard it a hundred times, and i know you heard it, too, fans, people who say they were close to whitney -- >> mm-hmm. >> -- say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown. how do you respond to it? and how does it make you feel when you hear it? >> it makes me feel terrible. but, you know, i know differently. i think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us, instead of time looking through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. the reality show gave us a

wake-up because we were able to see what other people were saying about us. you know. we were able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other. >> but why do you think you got the blame? i was read being some blogs after her death. one said bobby brown killed whitney. not in the literal way, but in the figurative way. bobby brown is responsible for getting her hooked on drugs. everyone seems to point the finger at you. >> no. >> and they say, whitney was more of a -- an innocent victim in this. >> no. that's not true. i didn't get high before i met whitney. >> on narcotics. >> on narcotics, no. no. i smoked weed. i drank the beer. but, no, i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. at all. >> so this was a part of her life before -- >> way before.

>> -- you and she got together. did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when, you know, we first got together, until i tried it. and when i tried it, for some reason i have an addictive personality. unexplainable. but i know i wasn't the one that, you know, got her addicted to drugs or i'm not the reason she's gone. >> you've said to me point-blank, i am not responsible for whitney getting hooked on drugs. >> right. >> would it be fair to say that if you didn't harm her in that way, your relationship didn't help her in that way? >> our relationship was great. i had 14 beautiful, beautiful years with that woman. >> and that's not revisionist history? that's not a chance of, after the fact, setting the record straight in bobby brown's way? >> no. i can -- i can honestly say that

i loved that woman with everything that i am. and i believe she loved me the same way. >> the night she passed away, bobby, you continued and did your performance in mississippi. in all the years that you guys had been together, you got up onstage and you said simply, i love you. >> mm-hmm. >> i love you, whitney. i truly, genuinely loved that woman. and i still love her today. even though i'm getting married sometime soon, my fiancee knows how i felt about that woman. my kids know how i feel -- how i felt about whitney. it's no secret, you know. i was in love with her, deeply. >> and we'll have more of matt's exclusive interview with bobby brown tomorrow. he talks about what happened at whitney's funeral and also about their daughter bobbi kristina. >> and coming up next, why moms should give themselves a present this mother's day.

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because the best oranges make the best juice. "today's" mom's rule is brought to you by tropicana. tap into nature. >> this morning on mom's rule today, pampering yourself for mother's day. it's a good time to take a break and recognize all of the hard work you do every day for others. and here with some ideas is robi ludwig a psychotherapist and care.com contributor. >> good morning. >> love this idea of nurturing yourself on mother's day. >> absolutely. >> the kids and the husband which isll great, too, but you say really take time to pamper yourself. >> we need to. and moms are so good at giving to everybody else. but if you give to yourself and

you're happier, you're a better mom. >> you have some good ideas for us. you say first do something old. >> right. think about what you love to do, maybe before you were a mom, and you just didn't have time to put it into your schedule. maybe it was singing. it will be different for everybody. >> right. >> dancing, creative writing. something that gives you joy. and find a way to fit it into your current life. >> gives you that freedom of -- okay. next you say try something new. >> all we know -- >> -- as enjoyable. >> doing something new helps us to feel really good about ourselves. think about something you've never done before. maybe it's trying a new food, wine tasting, something that you can incorporate into your day that helps you feel like you are the person you want to be. and it also helps moms feel like they're not in a rut. because we can feel that way sometimes. >> reinvigorates you. >> that's right. >> you also say and i love this, extend mother's day. >> extend -- >> does this mean every day becomes mother's day? >> it was inspired by my college roommate who made her birthday

like a month. >> right. >> why does it just have to be one day. >> exactly. >> make it every day. sometimes a day is too short to get to everything that we want to do. so maybe you want to hire a baby-sitter and have a couple's night out or a girl's night out. or hire somebody where you can delegate things to so that you can incorporate more of what you want into your life. >> sounds good to me. i'm signing up for that. >> i know, me too. >> also you say make it a ponytail, no makeup kind of a day. >> i love this. sometimes we're so worried about looking good, it's nice just to not have to worry about that. and realize we're loved anyway. and perhaps even more so. >> absolutely. just go casual. >> yes. >> on the other end of it you say buy a luxury item you may not necessarily need. but maybe want. >> right. i highly recommend this. and of course-ish. >> a nice pair of shoes. >> you don't want to break the budget. so set how much you want to spend on yourself. maybe it's shoes, a dress, perfume, nail polish. but something that says, i love me, and i deserve this. and i don't know if moms do that enough. >> that's absolutely right. we get to everybody else. but we're the last ones to take

care of ourselves. and you say, intentionally relax here. now the key word intentionally. >> right. and moms often feel very guilty in that they should be doing all the time. so they have to intentionally say to themselves, it's time to slow down. maybe it's putting on great music. lighting candles. getting that massage. or putting lotion all over yourself, on your hands and your feet, so remind yourself it's good to slow down every now and again. >> and then finally, and you say we should be doing this any day of the year is really to read some inspiration. >> i love this. because we can get so frazzled in our day, and lose sight of what's really important, and if we book some time to read some inspirational ideas, it's very good for our mental health. both for ourselves, and those that we're interacting with. >> helps you keep everything in perspective, as well. >> yes, absolutely. >> happy mother's day. >> to you, too. >> we deserve it. today is mother's day. we're starting right now. >> that's right. we'll start today. >> okay coming up next, simple

and seasonal in "today's kitchen" with a delicious spring dinner. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's for dinner. how about chicken and a tarragon pizza. it's all about cooking with the season's best. here with some simple recipes, vn esa, catering company called yum yum. you are very excited. you like chicken breasts. >> i love chicken breasts. i love springtime. i like chicken thighs better, and i love spring. it's such a great time to like get back in the kitchen, focus on freshness, and flavor. and kind of shed those winter blues. >> okay. >> so this is one of my favorite springtime recipes. >> you leave the skin on >> we're going to leave the skin on and we're going to roast this in the oven. the first thing we do, we coat it, i like to use my fingers. we're going to put a little bit of butter.

butter makes everything better on the skin and a little salt and pepper and you can -- thank you, al. we'll put some water in here. >> okay. >> and then we're going to roast it. >> all right. >> and then when we finish -- >> the tarragon? >> yeah, put a few sprigs in there. all right. after it comes out of the oven, the skin is really nice, really crispy. the tarragon is sort of infused the flavor. >> mm-hmm. >> and we're going to use the pan drippings that have that nice tarragon flavor. >> right. >> with the chicken juice. we're going to pour it into a gravy separator. and i was telling you earlier, thighs are the new chicken breast. they're a lot more flavorful. half the price. really nice, rich flavor. >> they're becoming really hot, aren't they? >> they are, they are. a lot of poultry producers are saying that they're selling more chicken thighs than ever before. >> mm-hmm. >> so what happens here is you kind of let this sit for about 20 minutes. >> you've got some that's

separated. >> that way you don't have to have the grease. you just get the nice juice. so we'll put that in here. we're going to add a little bit of vermouth, too. >> ah-ha! >> this is great. you can use a dry white wine. >> and the alcohol will actually cook off. >> the alcohol is going to cook out. we'll put a little bit of cream in there. we're going to let all of that reduce. now this recipe has spring peas, which is what makes it nice and spring and happy. >> right. >> so we have english shelled peas that have already been shelled. we're going to put that in our seuss. this has already been reduced a little bit. peas play really nicely with mint but i love tarragon so we're going to use tarragon in ours. it's just really enhances the flavor and i love, love, love peas. >> and if for some reason you couldn't get the fresh peas is frozen okay? >> it's fine. it's just a great time of year because spring peas are in season. so and they're not very pricey, so it's something great you could just use. we'll let that produce a little bit. >> okay. >> and then we've got -- oh, that platter? >> oh. >> thank you.

>> put that here. and then we'll dress it. and then the other way we add just that little spike of freshness and flavor is we're going to grate some freshly grated meyer lemon zest. >> okay. >> meyer lemons are nice and dark. >> i thought it was an orange. >> yeah, yeah, they're really nice. smell. >> hmm, nice. >> so put a little bit of that and then some freshly grated parmesan reggiano. >> and what's the other -- >> and then this is moraemorel mushrooms and asparagus. if you can spring for it get the fresh pasta in the grocery section, refrigerator section and this is quintessentially spring. strawberries, rhubarb, sweet and tart. >> yes. >> nice. >> my favorite kind of pie. >> oh, nice. >> all righty. here we go. vanessa, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for being here.

>> all the recipes are of course on our website at today.com. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> still to come this morning, lisa rinna is back with tips for heating up your sex life. >> wow. >> and celebrating this weekend's kentucky derby. coming up already. >> that's right. >> but first, your local news and weather. happy birthday weather channel. 30 years baby.